Map › Israel › Atlit / Neve Yam & Haifa / Bat Galim › Haifa / Bat Galim
Red Sea & Arabian Gulf · Haifa · Haifa Subdistrict
Haifa / Bat Galim
also known as Bat Galim Beach, Surfers' Beach, Rosh Carmel, Church spot, Grass/Cable Car spot, Institute spot
Nearby Atlit / Neve Yam 15 km · straight-line distance
On the clock
10:00 · 14:00
On the clock
14:00 · 14:30
Summer: about 10:00-14:00 then weakening. Winter NE pattern: around 14:00-14:30 after easterly flow.
The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Summer: about 10:00-14:00 then weakening. Winter NE pattern: around 14:00-14:30 after easterly flow.
Typical strength
10-35
Also on record
8-16
The quiver, in words
Nothing local is published. Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider, worked back from the published wind range rather than a local size chart: 9-12 m for the 15-20 kt summer thermal, 8-9 m for the 20-25 kt that the classic S/SW days deliver, 6-7 m when winter storms run 25-35 kt.Gusts near the launch argue for the smaller end of each bracket.
Direction to shore
S/SW runs side to side-on depending on the sub-spot, and has also been described as side-offshore on the strongest days; W is more onshore; NE, E and SE are side-off to offshore and hazardous.
Dominant direction
S to SW for the classic storm and strong-wind sessions; W/NW summer sea-breeze days also happen. N is also listed as suitable. NE, E and SE are the dangerous directions.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan, riders' month47
- Feb, riders' month41
- Mar, riders' month56
- Apr43
- May, riders' month46
- Jun, riders' month30
- Jul, riders' month32
- Aug, riders' month12
- Sep, riders' month24
- Oct40
- Nov, riders' month40
- Dec, riders' month33
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Nov, Dec.
- 11Jan20°
- 11Feb18°
- 12Mar19°
- 11Apr21°
- 11May23°
- 10Jun27°
- 10Jul30°
- 10Aug31°
- 10Sep29°
- 10Oct27°
- 11Nov24°
- 11Dec22°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 47% | 11.4 kt | S | 13.9°C | 19.8°C |
| Feb | 41% | 11.3 kt | WSW | 13.6°C | 18°C |
| Mar | 56% | 12 kt | WSW | 15.3°C | 18.5°C |
| Apr | 43% | 10.6 kt | N | 18.9°C | 20.6°C |
| May | 46% | 11.3 kt | WSW | 21.1°C | 22.8°C |
| Jun | 30% | 9.9 kt | WSW | 24.7°C | 26.6°C |
| Jul | 32% | 10.3 kt | WSW | 27.3°C | 29.5°C |
| Aug | 12% | 9.9 kt | W | 27.8°C | 30.5°C |
| Sep | 24% | 10 kt | WNW | 26.9°C | 29.4°C |
| Oct | 40% | 10.4 kt | NNW | 24.2°C | 27.1°C |
| Nov | 40% | 10.7 kt | ESE | 19.9°C | 23.8°C |
| Dec | 33% | 10.5 kt | E | 16.4°C | 21.5°C |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024
The water
Type
Mediterranean open coast, reef, chop and waves
Standing depth
shallow reef in parts of the Church spot; not a forgiving standing-depth learning lagoon
Tides
Microtidal Mediterranean coast; kitesurfing conditions at Bat Galim are not meaningfully tide-dependent, unlike wind direction and swell, which govern which sub-spot (Church, Institute or Grass/Cable Car) is rideable.
Temperature
27.3°C summer · 19.4°C winter
Wetsuit
No wetsuit or rash vest needed in summer; 2/3 mm commonly adequate in winter.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
5 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: Limited and technical: crowded, awkward launches, shallow sharp reef at the Church spot, obstacles around the grass and promenade, and a very small complex launch at the Institute spot.
Somewhere else
Atlit / Neve Yam, 15 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Bat Galim is a strip of Haifa waterfront below Mount Carmel, and it is four launches, not one. South to north: the Institute point, with a very small and complex launch used by experienced locals only; the Church, the main kite area, entered across sharp shallow reef and working best on south to south-southwest; the Grass/Cable Car area about 700 m north of the Church, which comes into its own when the wind carries a westerly component and gives longer, better-organised waves than the Church, with an awkward launch beside the promenade; and the Casino at the northern end, the cleanest and longest waves of the four with the least margin for error. Humphrey Hubert Street is the GPS access address.
Space
Limited and technical: crowded, awkward launches, shallow sharp reef at the Church spot, obstacles around the grass and promenade, and a very small complex launch at the Institute spot.
Rules & access
- 2026: follow local instructions, keep clear of pedestrians on the promenade and stay away from bathing and traffic areas.
- 2026: the Bat Galim lifeguard station runs 08:00-18:00 in bathing season, extended to 19:00 in July-August, with station 2 also working 08:00-15:30 through winter until the next bathing season.
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Pick the sub-spot by wind angle; the beach works from azimuth 180 to 270 and each launch has its own window.
- Wear booties for the reef entry at the Church spot.
- Use Humphrey Hubert Street as the GPS access address and walk in from there.
- Get local help before you rig: the rigging and launch areas are tight and the workable ones are not obvious.
- Stay off easterly days unless you ride at local level and have a plan for getting back to the beach.
- Pick the sub-spot by wind angle; the beach works from azimuth 180 to 270 and each of the four launches has its own window.
- Come in winter if you want wind. Roughly 25 windy days a month is a different spot from the two days a week the rest of the year gives you.
- Bring a small kite. Storm days here run 25-35 kt and the launch areas gust.
Getting there
Airport
Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)
Route
Ben Gurion Airport to Haifa is reported at about 106 km, about 1 h 20 min by car, or about 1 h 30 min by direct train to Haifa Center; Bat Galim is within Haifa by local road/transit.
Transfer
90 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Haifa has city hotels and apartments, including options around Bat Galim and the Carmel/port areas.
No-wind days
Haifa waterfront, Bat Galim promenade, cable car to Stella Maris/Mount Carmel, diving/surf/SUP activities where locally operating, and city trips around Haifa.
Photos
Last updated: August 2026